Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

Charles Frederick
Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Reign	1828–1853
Predecessor	Charles Augustus
Successor	Charles Alexander
Spouse	Maria Pavlovna of Russia
Issue
Prince Charles Marie, Princess Charles of Prussia Augusta, German Empress; Queen of Prussia Charles Alexander
House	House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Father	Charles Augustus, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Mother	Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt
Born	2 February 1783(1783-02-02) Weimar
Died	8 July 1853(1853-07-08) (aged 70) Schloss Belvedere, Weimar

Charles Friedrich, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (German: Karl Friedrich, Großherzog Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) (2 February 1783 – 8 July 1853) was a Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

Biography

Born in Weimar, he was the eldest son of Charles Augustus, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Luise Auguste of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Charles Frederick succeeded his famous father as Grand Duke when he died, in 1828. His capital, Weimar, continued to be a cultural center of Central Europe, even after the death of Goethe, in 1832. Johann Nepomuk Hummel made his career in Weimar as Kapellmeister until his death in 1837. Franz Liszt settled in Weimar in 1848 as Kapellmeister and gathered about him a circle that kept the Weimar court a major musical centre. Due to the intervention of Liszt, the composer Richard Wagner found refuge in Weimar after he was forced to flee Saxony for his role in the revolutionary disturbances there in 1848-49. Wagner's opera Lohengrin was first performed in Weimar in August 1850.

Charles Frederick died at Schloss Belvedere, Weimar, in 1853 and was buried in the Weimarer Fürstengruft.

Family and children

Obverse of a Charles Frederick thaler, 1841.

In St. Petersburg on 3 August 1804, Charles Frederick married the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, daughter of Emperor Paul I.^[1][2] They had four children:

• Paul Alexander Karl Constantin Frederick August (b. Weimar, 25 September 1805 – d. Weimar, 10 April 1806).
• Marie Luise Alexandrine (b. Weimar, 3 February 1808 – d. Berlin, 18 January 1877), married on 26 May 1827 to Karl of Prussia.
• Marie Luise Augusta Katharine (b. Weimar, 30 September 1811 – d. Berlin, 7 January 1890), married on 11 June 1829 to Wilhelm of Prussia, who became Wilhelm I, German Emperor.
• Karl Alexander August Johann, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (b. Weimar, 24 June 1818 – d. Weimar, 5 January 1901), married on 8 October 1842 to Sophie of the Netherlands.

Ancestry

References

1. ^ The Edinburgh almanack, or Universal Scots and imperial register. Printed by Oliver & Boyd. 1833. http://books.google.com/books?id=_gAsAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA150&lpg=PA150&dq=Charles+Frederick,+Grand+Duke+of+Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach&source=bl&ots=ayRyPGZ_9D&sig=K1f0brNgfM5YFixi5LJ2Nv_6yTA&hl=en&ei=HiJsTInfHMGblgfQj73fDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CB0Q6AEwBDge#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
2. ^ A hand-book for travellers on the continent. J. Murray. 1838. http://books.google.com/books?id=1sQBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR38&lpg=PR38&dq=Charles+Frederick,+Grand+Duke+of+Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach&source=bl&ots=DAdouqw5Cj&sig=DIqydYqV-tqLMbvjxgDQKCWIigc&hl=en&ei=HiJsTInfHMGblgfQj73fDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CCUQ6AEwBzge#v=onepage&q=Charles%20Frederick%2C%20Grand%20Duke%20of%20Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach&f=false. 

Preceded by Karl August

Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach 1828–1853

Succeeded by Karl Alexander

Persondata
Name	Charles Frederick Of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Grand Duke
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	2 February 1783
Place of birth	Weimar
Date of death	8 July 1853
Place of death	Schloss Belvedere, Weimar